Third Battle of Minagith
The Third Battle of Minagith was the third and final naval battle fought by Anatoray and Disith over possession of Minagith. It was a great victory for the Disith due to an illegal ambush manuever. The battle is depicted in the Last Exile episodes First Move and Luft Vanship. Ships Present At The Battle * The Claimh Solais class ships composing the Mad-thane fleet. ** Claimh Solais, flagship ** Answeller ** Armada ** Brionac ** Connaught ** Fragarach ** Geiborg ** Goliath ** Leinster ** Meath ** Partholan ** Temeraire * The Disith Battle Ships composing the 23rd Disith Battle Fleet. * A Guild Presence Ship serving as arbiter * Two Vanships ** Spirit of Grand Stream, a Courier-class vanship flown by Claus Valca ** Ship One, a Military-class vanship flown by Tatiana Wisla * A Reconnaissance Ship for the Emperor * The Silvana Course Of The Battle Opening thumb|Ships line up to exchange musket fire The battle opened with the ships lining up and exchanging fire between their musketeers, as required by Guild combat regulations. The combat was overwhelmingly in Anatoray's favor, prompting Duke David Mad-thane to offer the Disith forces a chance to surrender. Artillery Commences When the Disith fleet declined Duke Mad-thane's offer of surrender, the battle progressed to the exchange of artillery fire. The Anatoray forces continued to hold a commanding advantage; in the first volleys, they sunk Disith ships without losing any of their own. At this stage, it seemed inevitable that the battle would be a clear victory for the Anatoray forces. It was at this stage of the battle that the vanship piloted by Claus Valca and Lavie Head arrived at Minagith with a message for Duke Mad-thane and landed on the Claimh Solais. Disith Ambush thumb|Disith fleet descending from above As the Mad-thane Fleet was celebrating its victory, a second unregistered Disith fleet arrived at the battle from across the Grand Stream. Descending from above, they opened fire on the unsuspecting Anatoray forces and inflicted massive damage. The Temeraire and Answeller were sunk, and Count Charles Knowles of the Goliath panicked and fled the battlefield. When further fire sunk the Parthalon, a Reconaissance Ship observing the battle dispatched a vanship to the Imperial Capital to inform the Emperor that Minagith would be lost. This resulted in the Emperor's decision to send away Alvis Hamilton to keep her safe from the Guild. Anatoray Retreat thumb|Damaged Anatoray Battle Ships under fire from the Disith Caught between the remnants of the 23rd Disith Fleet and the newly arrived fleet, the Mad-thane Fleet was prepared to die fighting. However, the letter delivered to Duke Mad-thane by Claus and Lavie convinced him to retreat and live to fight another day. He ordered the remaining Anatoray ships into a formation with the damaged vessels in the center; Brionac and Connaught would break through the Disith fleet at the front, while Claimh Solais would protect the rear. Seeing that the Disith were pursuing the fleeing ships with the intent to destroy them, Claus and Lavie approached the Guild arbiter and requested that it call off the battle due to the illegal maneuver by the Disith. When the Guild refused to acknowledge their request, they decided to assist the Mad-thane Fleet by obscuring the Disith's line of fire with smoke. As they enacted their plan, the Silvana arrived on the battlefield. A military vanship flown by Tatiana Wisla and Alister Agrew sunk one Disith Battle Ship with a bomb, while cannon fire from the Silvana sunk many more. The remainder of the Mad-thane Fleet was able to use the distraction to break through the Disith lines and retreat to safety. thumb|Tatiana destroys a Disith Battle Ship Consequences The Disith fleet that took Minagith would proceed to invade Norkia and then strike at the Imperial Capital itself. Duke Mad-thane was initially branded a coward for retreating from the battle rather than fighting to the death. However, his observation of Claus, Lavie, Tatiana, and Alister's role in the battle gave him new ideas about the potential usage of vanships in combat. These insights would later lead to the highly successful Alliance torpedo attacks against a fleet of Guild Battle Ships. The Goliath was sunk and Count Knowles killed in a duel against the Silvana at Walker Palace. Category:Things